Rivalry
by Riyazura
Summary: A pre-Breath of the Wild one-shot. For how long will Link tolerate being pushed by the single person most doubtful of his abilities before he challenges their authority?


Link listened to the crickets' songs catching on the blissful late-night breeze as he overlooked the balcony of Rito Village's highest landing. The village's islands were bathed in silver light, the moon already risen high into the sky. A Rito warrior had politely requested that the Hylian Champion take a short break before he returned to stand guard, seeing at so much as a glance how exhausted he must've felt. He leaned a forearm on the rail, resting his palm on a cheek reddened by the rather chilly climate of southern Hebra.

Link saw briefly before closing his eyes for a moment that his breath billowed up into the sky. _Hylia,_ it was so freezing here. How nice it'd be to not have to stick to the rule of always having to wear his Champion's tunic while on duty… He'd replace it with a cozy snowquill tunic in a heartbeat.

Still, at least he could wear anything suitable under his Champion's garb that he wanted. He had resided to wearing a white turtleneck sweater he had bought last time he'd visited home some time ago, along with some light gray, Rito-made snowquill gloves, which ended at the fingertips. These combined were proving to be even warmer than his usual outfit, and for that he was grateful. At least he could decide for himself what he could wear underneath his Champion's tunic, given it didn't clash with the blue's sign of royalty.

Life outside of battle―or _routine,_ for that matter―was pleasant. Though Link enjoyed his career's adventurous and sometimes dangerous appeal, he also liked to imagine, every once in a while, living the carefree life of a civilian_―or perhaps a hunter..._ He puckered his lip in thought, taking a moment in his lonesomeness to enjoy the luxury of expression. Then he would not be so dissociated with battle, but also not in the forefront of it, and _certainly_ not in the forefront of everyone elses' eyes watching him. Perhaps Zelda and he could talk about it someday.

_Someday,_ when she no longer loathed his presence for his skills that she thought outmatched her own…

Link scowled. Why couldn't she just see him for who he was genuinely presenting himself as, who thought that maybe it would help the both of them to discuss their similarities?

But, of course, Link reminded himself, imagining how much better life_ could_ be going was not something to forever indulge in. He'd let himself dwell on thoughts only for a healthy enough amount of time, but disregarded them as soon as reality returned to him, prodding at him for his attention. He'd best return back to the Rito warrior now to stand guard once more, no matter how mind-numbing it was.

However, there was a big problem, he noticed as he began walking back—behind him, the sound of graceful wing flaps, and then someone quietly lighting down.

Revali, annoyingly enough, had joined him on his nighttime expedition for some momentary peace and quiet away from keeping watch. Link just kept ignoring Revali, as he had been since the Rito bowmaster first glided down from the seclusion of Vah Medoh.

Welp, this problem was even bigger than Link had first anticipated. Well―his _ego,_ rather, was what was even bigger, to be precise.

What, had Revali been watching Link, waiting to stand there behind him like a creep? And had he _really_ been so offended by Link's presence as to spend time only up on Vah Medoh when he was clearly, _practically_ stalking him from above? Well, it probably wouldn't be an issue anyway regarding where he stayed; Rito were well-suited to both cold _and_ heights. It was Revali's issue if those factors were a bother to him.

"I've heard tales of the heroes before you, y'know," Revali began, sneering at Link from behind.

Knowing Revali, he was probably posing in some dynamic, dramatic way, with his own back turned to Link. The Hylian resisted the urge to roll his eyes, maintaining a steady, calm demeanor as he always did. He simply watched in front of him, at where he should have been walking back already.

Calm waters. He was one with the calm, pacific waters of the sea bordering the eastern shores of Hyrule...

Or, that was what he imagined to keep him grounded in his purpose, anyway. It was good enough.

_"Ugh,"_ Revali scoffed, "if you stopped being a mute little Hylian with that _baby sword_ on your back, I'm sure you would get what you wanted. You could be whoever you wanted to be before the Calamity had been proven to exist. But, you wouldn't be what Hyrule needs in this age. I _would,_ however."

So Revali could somehow tell Link had vague ideas about being something other than a knight, or perhaps assumed that would shake his resolve; alright. But those were just thoughts. Link wasn't bothered by such taunts. He was still fully dedicated to his purpose and craft; he would choose the code of chivalry over any other profession or walk of life any day.

If Revali wanted to compete with Link on that, he would certainly accept the challenge. So the boy whirled around and replied, in an even tone that only he could somehow manage to make both humbly soft and confidently commanding:

"But that's not what's going to happen; none of us can step away from what we are asked of."

Revali turned around, at first with surprise, but with a glint that reappeared in his narrowed eyes as he cocked his head. "Was that an accusation, _Silent Boy?"_ he hissed threateningly, almost headbutting Link with the challenge.

Link backed away slightly, ignoring the bite of the nickname Revali had called him―_someone_ must have told Revali he had never liked that name...

It was probably―no, _definitely_―Zelda. _Wow,_ she really was just as set on giving Link a bad rap as much as Revali was, wasn't she?

Nonetheless, the royal guard maintained his composure, as ever. He kept his expression from becoming cold, and his hands from flexing into fists. "I am simply saying that we can not change our fates. While it is indeed harsh, I understand that you do not want to have your name as Rito Champion be overshadowed by my destiny. Not only as the Hylian Champion, but especially utmost and foremost, as the _Hero."_

"So, you're…" Revali shook his head incredulously before finishing, "what? Being petty?"

"I'm being_ honest,"_ Link reaffirmed, speaking with a spark of new empathy. "I'm saying that we can't decide what we are needed to be, or what happens to us and the kingdom in turn. I can't choose what the Goddess Hylia decides to gift or curse me with, and so I need to accept and understand that as much as possible. Even when I don't want to." The boy's expression had softened slightly. "And I say this in the most well-meaning way possible; I think you should, as well."

Revali watched him with a parsed beak. He squinted with calculatingly cold emerald eyes. "So, you're a teacher giving me a philosophy class now, are you?"

Link's eyebrows betrayed surprise as they slightly knitted together. He hadn't mentioned a thing about teachings... Link had just been upfront to Revali like he had no other, to _Revali,_ of all people. But now, Revali was _still_ trying to distract him, to lure him into his trap...

Don't give in. Don't give in. Calm waters. Calm waters...

The swordsman kept his breathing steady, reminding himself to keep his sword hand at his side as the Rito bowmaster sauntered around him in a circle. He was like a predator, analyzing his prey for the exact moment in which striking would give him the most benefit. Dismay edged its way into the boy's mind.

"In that case," the Rito hissed, "I'll just take what you don't need―"

Link's breath was knocked out of him as the Rito warrior harshly pushed him to his knees. Pain blossomed in Link's right wrist, and he bit his tongue to keep from crying out as the familiar weight on his back was lifted with a _shiing!_

The Hylian looked up, his blue eyes wide with shock from where he'd landed on his hands. Revali held the Master Sword, pointed skyward above his head. "O-_ho,_ look at _this!_ The Hylian Champion seems to have lost the worthiness entrusted to him by his _beloved_ Sword! Now, only the _true_ Hero can wield it in order to save all of Hyrule!" Revali twirled the Sword in his grip with surprising ease and grace, a most-pleased grin plain on his features.

Revali couldn't be better at that than Link was... Link was the bearer of the Darkness-Sealing Sword. Revali was an _assistant_ to him, one that solely wielded a _bow..._

The honed tip glinted silver in the moonlight as Revali pointed it threateningly close to the Hylian Champion's eye. The Rito prodigy snarled menacingly, "You try forcing this fancy made-up talk of destiny on me one more time, I swear to the golden goddesses above, _I_ will show you who's worthy of being the―"

The flinch-inducing sting of a slowly dripping liquid. And then, before even the first drop had fallen―

A panicked yelp, and the clattering of a dropped sword.

Link opened his eyes he hadn't realized he'd been squeezing shut, and saw that the Master Sword was glowing a holy white in front of him. It had manifested itself for the briefest moment, accompanied by the mystical sound of its voice, just audible over the many sounds of the wild carried along by the breeze...

Before the light of the blade disappeared, he spotted a thin line of transparent red at its pointed tip, sliding off in undivided, vein-like streams. He looked down to where his hands pushed against the wooden planks to see what he had heard; a constant drip-drip next to his splayed fingers, the shocking, ever-dazzling color of ruby.

Not a sound passed through Link's ears as he turned his gaze slowly up at Revali.

The Rito warrior's silhouette seemed almost timid in a way the boy had never seen under the moon. He favored his arm he used to wield the Master Sword as if it had sent a current of its godlike fury up his wing, but his_ face._

His face was so furious that Link dragged his hands closer to where his scraped knees kneeled, his gaze darting immediately downwards again. No, it would be much better if he inspected the brand-new slash of brown woodwork and droplets of blood exposed against the white paint of the landing's Rito emblem. It wouldn't make Revali any angrier, and such a thing was something Link didn't want to learn about firsthand.

It was evident in the Rito's dark tone, now, that he was finished. "I hope that you've learned from my lesson that while I may not wield your _'Sword of Evil's Bane,'_ I can lift up my _own_ crafted weapon of expertise if I so choose to. I'm sure you are aware now, _Silent Boy, that you shouldn't make me."_

_Oh,_ Link had never felt more tired.

He hissed cold wind through his clenched teeth. This incessant show of pompousness was just too much to bear anymore―especially when it had gotten him hurt, after all he had done was accept the single break he had been given from anyone since his ceremony into Championship. That was all this had downspiraled into, wasn't it?

Link bristled with contained fury as he wiped the blood off his cheek with an overturned hand, the cut suddenly burning with contact. His splintered fingers rested over the hilt of his weapon and he rose up to his feet. The blade pointed at the ground.

It was as if the Master Sword was as tired as Link felt.

The knight watched Revali with a defiant expression despite that fact.

"I explained to you my opinion on what we should stand together for before you decided to provoke me. I am sorry for being mistaken that you would listen to a supposedly 'inexperienced' and_ 'silent'_ soldier like me." Link turned to stride away, raising his chin as well as the Master Sword's blade just noticeably enough.

Feign confidence; he wouldn't let the Rito prodigy's antics get to him. Revali was simply used to the attention only for Link to begin receiving it all. He was jealous; that was all, right?

Revali had spoken again, but in a more reserved tone. "Excuse me, Link..."

The boy's headstrong stance was betrayed as he stopped to listen, with his eyes and his Sword slowly beginning to point at the ground in front of them, secretly discouraged. Perhaps Revali was apologizing; perhaps the Master Sword's light had cleared the darkness in his mind when it shocked him...

"This dent in these wooden planks on my Landing is _your_ fault. When my fellow Rito ask where this came from, I'm going to tell them that it was because of _your_ clumsy swordsmanship. You'd think you would know how to better retaliate against someone taking your weapon, _Champion._ What would you do if your fellow guard 'friends' took your sword? What if a monster were to do that in front of your princess? Do you not have the authority of those who should respect you for your 'destiny' you spoke so highly of?"

Link's grip on his Sword's hilt tightened with even more contained fury, fire crawling across his cheeks.

"More importantly, will you really keep hauling that sword around, meant to vanquish the Calamity, when you can't even manage to vanquish your own fears?" Revali continued on with genuine wonder.

Link sighed without an audible indication, apparent only through the rise and fall of his chest, as he continued to steadfastly ignore the sharp, throbbing protests in his cheek, fingers, and knees.

He hadn't been given help. He hadn't been apologized to, urged to get his wounds checked out despite however minor they were, or even let alone be asked, _'Do you need help?'_

Instead, Revali was answering differently.

"I can tell by the way your head is tilted down that you can barely take a _joke,_ Silent Boy."

That was it.

Revali had recognized Link's change to further aggravate him exactly when Link had decided to take his shortcomings and move along. They weren't even his fault. Even if no one had laid claim to witness it, that was probably one of the most humiliating experiences he had ever endured.

He _hated_ it.

Link whipped his head around to stare at Revali. He didn't care if he gave in to freely expressing his fury, not now. "The fact that you took my sword to do _this―"_ he gestured to the horizontal smear of red, stark against his cheek, with an upwards nod of his head―"is _not_ a joke. Do not ever refer to me by that name _again."_

With that, Link stormed off swiftly, his head bowed. The scrapes on his knees ached and the splinters lodged in his hands tingled, his hand still clutching the Master Sword stinging harshly. The cut just below his left eye burned as it bled, slower now, but that didn't mean that it wasn't deep. He would have to treat it while he stood guard and hope the fact would go unnoticed by anyone who happened to gaze upon him at this hour of the night. But he would especially have to be wary of the cut on his cheek around_ the princess;_ he could already hear her relentlessly chiding tone about how "reckless" he was, refusing to so much as acknowledge a word coming from him as to who might have actually confronted him.

Still, whether she noticed it or not, it would leave a scar. It would be yet another reminder of his insecurities, one that would soon be visible to the world.

His vow of silence wasn't enough to stop its roars of discouragement, the roars of the waters he wanted so desperately to remain calm; perhaps it only made them louder. The Rito Champion's snide yet truthful words echoed in his head without cease:

_Do you not have the authority of those who should respect you for your destiny? More importantly, will you really keep hauling that sword around, meant to vanquish the Calamity, when you can't even manage to vanquish your own fears?_

* * *

Has anyone noticed before that Revali's name could easily be mistaken for "rivalry?" Doesn't sound coincidental to me...

Thank you for reading!


End file.
